Geothermal energy is a perfect source of energy as it is completely independent of groundwater depletion, land subsidence, hot spring depletion, earthquakes, etc., and does not disturb the underground environment or assessment in any way.
1.
It is obvious that micro reactors (small modular reactors: SMRs) will fail.
The geothermal power generation technologies being researched and developed by the Artificial Evolution Research Institute (AERI), which are the twin technologies of the micro reactor, are the closed-cycle heat exchange power generation system with heat regenerative binary engine and the cogeneration-type micro binary power generation system.
(1) It has a large market potential because a 100 GWh class power generation facility can be constructed in any region.
(2) It can solve the problem of the influence to the groundwater of the present geothermal power generation.
(3) Unlike nuclear power plants, there is no need for security costs.
(4) Vertical scaling to increase thermal efficiency is easy, and
(5) It is the ultimate power generation technology because it can share the turbine and other equipment with coal-fired and natural gas-fired power plants, thus reducing the replacement cost and construction time.
2.
SMRs have been around since the 1950s and are no better today than they were then.
3.
As the name implies, a micro reactor SMR is a nuclear power plant, a fission reactor.
This means that they use fissile material fuelled by radioactive decay to heat a liquid to produce steam, which is then used to turn a turbine to produce electricity.
Technically, it is like coal-fired power generation, but instead of burning plants that have been buried in the ground for a long time, it uses the heat from the decay of uranium.
On the other hand, the geothermal power generation technology being researched and developed by the Artificial Evolution Research Institute (AERI) - a closed-cycle heat exchange power generation system with a heat recovery binary engine and a cogeneration-type microbinary power generation system - is completely different from conventional geothermal power generation using warm water.
Only the geothermal heat pumped up from the ultra-deep depth of 1000m or more is used to heat the liquid to generate steam, and the turbine is turned by the steam to generate electricity.
For this reason, it is completely independent of groundwater depletion, land subsidence, hot spring depletion, earthquakes, etc., and does not disturb the underground environment or assessment in any way.
4.
The decommissioning of the reactors would cost a billion dollars and take 100 years, even with current state-of-the-art technology.
This has been proven by the decommissioning of reactors in several countries.
In the US, the decommissioning of reactors is funded by a reserve fund which covers about a third of the decommissioning costs, with the taxpayer paying the remainder of about $70 billion.
SMRs would have the same duration and proportionate clean-up costs.
Nu Scale assumes 12 reactors of 60 MW each, for a total capacity of 720 MW.
The clean-up costs are estimated to be around $720 million.
Supporters of SMRs assume that the reactors will be managed in centralised nuclear waste repositories for decommissioning.
However, since no country in the world has been able to build a centralised nuclear waste repository, this assumption is impossible and is the fantasy of a bunch of amateurs.
5.
Geothermal power is the only renewable energy source that is not affected by weather conditions, and its supply is not used as a political bargaining chip, as is the case with crude oil and natural gas.
It does not emit as much carbon dioxide (CO2) as coal- or natural gas-fired power generation, and is not subject to the fatal effects of natural disasters or bad weather as wind or solar power generation.
The geothermal power generation methods being studied at the Artificial Evolution Research Institute (AERI https://www.aeri-japan.com/) are
(1) it is possible to supply 100% of the power generated by geothermal energy without depending on other countries
(2) It is the single best energy source in terms of "security", and
It is the only energy source with the best security; 3. It is not affected by climate change, extreme weather, or natural disasters; 4.
(4) the price of raw materials is essentially zero
It has the potential to generate more than 100 GWh (gigawatts per hour) of electricity on a stable basis, far exceeding coal- and natural gas-fired power generation and rivaling or surpassing nuclear power.
See also
Cogeneration-type microbinary power generation systems (https://www.aeri-japan.com/cogeneration-microbinary)
Geothermal power generation (https://www.aeri-japan.com/geothermalpower1)
Smart Grid Adaptive Geothermal Power Systems (https://www.aeri-japan.com/smartgrid1)
Associate Professor, California Institute of Technology, USA Prof. PhD. & Dr. Kamuro
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